Maximilian II (Holy Roman Empire) (1527–1576; Ruled 1564–1576)

MAXIMILIAN II (HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE) (1527–1576; ruled 1564–1576), Holy Roman emperor. Maximilian II, who was born on 31 July 1527 in Vienna and died on 12 October 1576 in Regensburg, was king of Bohemia (ruled 1562–1576), king of the Romans (1562), and king of Hungary (ruled 1563–1576). He became Holy Roman emperor in 1564. In 1548 he married María of Habsburg (1528–1603), coregent of Spain (1548–1550). Maximilian is buried in Saint Vitus Cathedral in Prague.

Son of the new king and queen of Bohemia and Hungary, Ferdinand I (ruled 1558–1564) of Habsburg and Anna of Jagiellon (died 1547), Maximilian grew up as a rival to his cousin Philip of Spain, the future King Philip II (ruled 1556–1598). Ultimately Maximilian gained the imperial title and fathered two Holy Roman emperors, Rudolf II (ruled 1576–1612) and Matthias (ruled 1612–1619). Philip gained the Iberian lands, the Low Countries, parts of Italy, and the Habsburg overseas empire in the Americas, Africa, and Asia.

Maximilian is often portrayed as having had—much to the dismay of his more orthodox father—a lively curiosity when it came to religious matters. This curiosity led many of his time (and later) to speculate that he may have believed some of the theological points presented by the followers of Martin Luther (1483–1546). Some scholars believe that, to restrain the young archduke, some of his inheritance was given away to his brothers Ferdinand and Charles, and Maximilian was sent to Spain to act as coregent with his bride María, the sister of the later Spanish king Philip II.

Nonetheless Maximilian's father eventually entrusted the newly acquired kingdoms of Bohemia and Hungary, together with some of the Habsburg hereditary lands, to Maximilian and María. At the death of Ferdinand in 1564, Maximilian assumed the title of elected emperor and proceeded to organize the defense of Christendom against new Hungarian campaigns undertaken by the Ottomans in the 1560s. The defense, however, was less than spectacular. Maximilian, apparently shaken by the experience, retreated to a more intellectual and legally circumscribed sphere of cultural pursuits and limited political engagement.

Keeping an eye on the possibilities in Iberia (his cousin Philip was having difficulties producing a viable heir), Maximilian and María produced numerous children, including Anna, the future wife of Philip. A second daughter, Elizabeth, became Queen of France as the wife of King Charles IX (ruled 1560–1574).

Intelligent and open-minded, Maximilian supported research on historical and botanical subjects, and he continued to import styles and ideas from Italy, a process his father had actively supported. Outside of his residence city of Vienna, Maximilian oversaw the building of an impressive garden residence known simply as the "New Construction" (Neugebäude). Situated on a rise overlooking the Danube River, this construction provided an orderly
alternative to an oft-chaotic political landscape over which the emperor had little clear control.

Maximilian lost influence in imperial Italy over such matters as what title was to be granted to the Medici in Florence. Nevertheless he transferred the crowns of Bohemia and Hungary as well as the imperial title to his son Rudolf, partly by allowing an ill-defined amount of religious toleration to the important nobles in various of his lands.

In lands distant from the Ottoman front in Hungary, Maximilian's policies were marked by a clear respect for the provisions of the religious peace set at Augsburg in 1555 by his father. Maximilian staked much on the support of the Saxon electors newly tied to the imperial constitution. He also reached out to the usually inimical Valois in France, as representatives of that dynasty struggled with religious and civil chaos in their kingdom. Maximilian even entertained cordial relations with the Tudor queen of England, Elizabeth I (ruled 1558–1603). His wife María and Elizabeth of England shared godparental responsibilities for Maximilian and María's granddaughter Marie-Isabelle, the daughter of Charles IX and Elizabeth.

Maximilian II was plagued with health problems. His heart and constitution failed him, and he died at the age of forty-nine. Various stories of his deathbed behavior circulated around Europe, and all tried to divine what his demeanor meant for the cloudy future of the (Christian) religious settlement of 1555. His sons Rudolf and Matthias took the imperial office, but their successive reigns did not continue their father's conciliatory project.

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Maximilian II

Maximilian II

Maximilian II (1527-1576) was Holy Roman emperor from 1564 to 1576. Although Protestant, he was not successful in uniting Protestants in the empire.

Maximilian was the son of Ferdinand I, who succeeded as Holy Roman emperor after the abdication of Charles V. In 1548 Maximilian married his cousin Maria, daughter of Charles V. Although Charles V had to give the imperial succession of Ferdinand I, he had tried to reserve the succession of Ferdinand for his own son Philip II of Spain rather than Maximilian. This created a deep division between the two main branches of the Hapsburg family; in 1551 Ferdinand and Maximilian had to yield to Charles V's wishes, although they did not plan to keep the agreement. A complicating factor was that Maximilian's Catholicism was suspect; he was on very good terms with the German princes who had defeated Charles V in 1552.

After Ferdinand succeeded Charles V in 1555, he tried to bring Maximilian back to the Catholic Church. In spite of his insistence and threats from Pope Paul IV, Maximilian kept his Lutheran chaplain. In 1560 relations with his father were near a rupture, and he canvassed the Protestant princes for their support against his father. When he found this support lacking, Maximilian gave in and nominally returned
to Catholicism. Maximilian's behavior remained ambiguous, and it was anticipated that he would favor Protestantism if he ever became emperor. In 1562 Ferdinand had Maximilian elected king of the Romans, thus securing his succession and overriding the earlier settlement in favor of Philip II.

In 1564 Maximilian succeeded his father as emperor. He was now in a unique position to help Protestantism win in the empire. But his was a peaceful and vacillating character, and he was not up to the historical role he might have played. All he did was to work for a piecemeal reform of the Church, favoring the lay cup and priestly marriage; in his own Austrian lands he introduced a large measure of religious freedom in 1568.

Maximilian II's dealings with the German Protestants were made more difficult by the ferocious dogmatic hostilities between the several Lutheran sects and between the Lutherans and Calvinists. His continued wavering was certainly influenced by political interests as well; as emperor, he did not want to include in the Augsburg Peace of Religion ecclesiastical princes turned Lutheran, as he had promised the princes before. He also attended vigilantly to dynastic interests. In order to placate the Spanish family, and with an eye on the Spanish succession, he sent his oldest son, Rudolph, to Spain for a solid Catholic education.

As was the case with all the emperors of the period, the Turkish threat in Hungary determined much of Maximilian's policy toward the German princes and foreign powers. He tried to remain at peace with the Sultan and abandoned all attempts to roll back the Turkish inroads. In 1575 Maximilian became involved in intrigues to win the Polish crown for his house, but he died before he could prepare the military campaign to unseat another pretender. The year before, however, he had yielded to Spanish demands and had obtained the designation of his Catholic son Rudolph II as his successor, thus securing the Catholic future of the Hapsburg lands and of the imperial office.

Further Reading

For material on Maximilian see Adam Wandruszka, The House of Habsburg: Six Hundred Years of a European Dynasty (trans. 1964), and Friedrich Heer, The Holy Roman Empire (1967; trans. 1968). □

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Maximilian II (1527–76, Holy Roman emperor)

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.

Copyright The Columbia University Press

Maximilian II, 1527–76, Holy Roman emperor (1564–76), king of Bohemia (1562–76) and of Hungary (1563–76), son and successor of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I. Before acceding he evidenced a sympathy for Lutheranism that caused grave concern in imperial and papal circles and led Holy Roman Emperor Charles V to urge that his son King Philip II of Spain succeed Ferdinand. However, Maximilian yielded and in 1562 swore to remain a Catholic and to allow his immediate heirs to be educated in Spain. He thereupon was elected king of the Romans, or Holy Roman emperor-elect (1562), and king of Hungary (1563). On Ferdinand's death (1564) he took full direction of imperial affairs. He obtained funds from the diet for the defense of Austria against the Turks but did not press his advantage, and by the truce of 1568 with Selim II he agreed to continue paying tribute to the sultan for his part of Hungary. Maximilian granted a large degree of religious toleration in his Bohemian and Austrian possessions. His policy of neutrality, however, also allowed the Counter Reformation to make considerable gains in some parts of the empire. A candidate for the throne of Poland to succeed Henry of Anjou (Henry III of France), he was elected (1575) by the Polish diet as rival king to Stephen Báthory. Maximilian died, refusing the sacraments, while preparing to invade Poland. His son succeeded him as Rudolf II.

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Maximilian II (1811–64, king of Bavaria)

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.

Copyright The Columbia University Press

Maximilian II, 1811–64, king of Bavaria (1848–64), son and successor of Louis I. He had liberal tendencies and was a patron of art and learning. He hoped to create a union of small German states under Bavarian leadership as a counterweight to Austrian and Prussian influence in German affairs, but he was unable to do so. His son, Louis II, succeeded him.

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